Madcap Tragedies
by IWantToBeAMalfoy
Summary: After a disturbing dream, Yakko thinks it's time for the Warners to make some changes in their lives, in fear of losing everything he loves.
1. Chapter 1: Yakko's Dream

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Yakko, Wakko, Dot or any other Animaniac. They all belong to Warner Bros.  
**Author's note: **I'm not sure if this is gonna work out, or even if I'll see it all the way through. As long as people read and review, I'll try to keep going.

**1. Yakko's Dream**

It had been a long time since Yakko had had such a vivid dream. The last truly vivid dream he'd had involved him and his two siblings going for a picnic by a sparkling river and a towering mountain. Dot and Yakko had eaten the picnic. Wakko had eaten the mountain.  
That dream had all just been a bit of fun, and it hadn't even amounted to anything. But this one was different. It caused Yakko to sit up straight in bed with a small yelp, his hair and skin glistening with a cold sweat. Wakko slept right through, as usual, but Dot was awoken.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Huh?" Yakko said, sounding panicked, "What? Oh…nothing."  
He sunk back down onto his pillow and pulled the sheets up around his chest.  
"Are you sure?" Dot's voice came from his right.  
"Positive. Go back to sleep, sis."  
There was a pause before Dot mumbled, "OK."  
Not long after that, a faint snore told Yakko that she'd drifted off. He slithered further down into his bed and pulled the sheets over his head, trying to block out the noises of the night that surrounded him.  
_Dot! Wakko! Please, come back to me!  
_His own voice rang in his ears and he clamped his hands over them.  
_Dot! Wakko!  
_He curled up into a tight ball.  
_Please, come back to me!  
_He gritted his teeth.  
_Noooo!  
_He gave himself a headache trying to force himself to sleep.  
_Please, come back to me! I'm sorry!  
_He kicked the sheets off his bed and fell to the floor, waking Wakko as well as Dot.  
"You can't tell me something's not wrong now, Yakko," Dot said, peering over her bed to see her eldest brother lying there, panting.  
"What's happening?" Wakko asked.  
"I think Yakko's having nightmares."  
"Yes, thank you, Dot," Yakko said through gulps of air, "I can speak for myself, you know."  
Wakko jumped down from his bed, "Nightmares?"  
Yakko paused then nodded.  
"What about? Ooh! Ooh! Do you see yourself drowning in a giant vat of American cheese and then, just as you manage to cling on to an overhead candy bar, a massive hamburger falls on top of your head?"  
Yakko didn't even blink, "No, Wakko, that's _your_ nightmare."  
"Oh…so what happened in yours?"  
Yakko wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, then went over to the sink and poured himself a glass of water, "Nothing. I…I don't really remember it."  
_Dot! Wakko! Please, come ba-  
_"So just drop it, OK?"  
Dot and Wakko exchanged glances but said nothing more.  
"G'night, then," Dot said with an air of conclusion, settling back down into her bed.  
"Goodnight, Dot," Wakko replied, kissing his sister on the forehead, "Sweet dreams, Yakko."  
The eldest Warner took a deep, shuddering breath and went back to bed.  
"Goodnight, sibs."  
_Please, come back to me! I'm sorry! Noooo!_


	2. Chapter 2: Dot's Interpretation

**Author's note: **I was surprised at the number of reviews I'd received when I came back to my PC the other day and was inspired to write more:D

**2. Dot's Interpretation**

Dot and Wakko were already eating breakfast by the time Yakko got up. He allowed his eyes to become accustomed to the light before hauling himself out of bed and wandering over to the table.  
"Hey, why didn't you wake me?" he asked blearily, rubbing his eyes.  
"You had such a rough night last night," Dot replied, "We thought you should lie in."  
"Are you feeling better?" Wakko asked through a mouthful of bacon.  
"Yeah, I guess. A little shaken, but I'm OK."  
"Y'want something to eat?" Dot asked, producing numerous plates of food from behind her back.  
"Uh…nah. N-not just yet."  
Dot put the plates down carefully, not taking her eyes off her brother, "Yakko, you look awful."  
"Gee. Thanks."  
"I'm serious, I think you should go back to bed."  
"Hey, it's _my_ job to look after _you_, got it?"  
_Dot! Wakko! Please, come back to me!  
_It sounded so clear that he had to turn around to check he wasn't standing behind himself. He cleared his throat nervously and sat down on the edge of his chair, stirring the cereal Dot had just poured for him.  
"Are you gonna eat that?" Wakko asked. After a pause Yakko shook his head. Wakko immediately grabbed the cereal and ate it, bowl and all. He sighed gratifyingly and patted his stomach.  
"So," he said, leaning back in his chair, "What was this nightmare about, then?"  
"Wakko!" Dot scolded her brother as Yakko jumped.  
"What? I was just curious!"  
"Well, you could try being a little less curious and a little more sensitive!"  
"He's my brother, I was worried, OK?"  
"He obviously doesn't want to talk about it!"  
"How do _you _know?"  
"He didn't last night! And don't you dare get out your mallet!"  
Wakko pulled his hand back to his side, "How did you know?"  
Dot sighed resignedly and turned to where Yakko had previously been sitting.  
"Hey, where'd he go?"  
They heard the water tower door slam shut. They glanced at each other then shouted in unison: "YAKKO!"

He was shaky, sweating, nervous, excited and scared all at once. He had no idea where he was going; he just kept walking, away from the water tower and past the psychiatry ward. He ignored Dr. Scratchensniff's yells of, "Yakko, get back in ze vater tower! RIGHT NOW!" and didn't even bother greeting Hello Nurse – it wouldn't have been the same without Wakko anyway.  
"Duuh, get back!" a loud, brutish voice came from behind him. He turned to see Ralph, the security guard, towering over him looking stern, "You shouldn't be here!"  
"Well, I am!" Yakko yelled, feeling suddenly rebellious, although slightly nervous about it without his trusted siblings to back him up, "And I'm not going back! I'm just taking a walk, it's not illegal!"  
"Duuh, the CEO wants you locked up in your water tower at all times!"  
Yakko rolled his eyes – Ralph just didn't realise how naïve he was being.  
"I'm not going back, I tell ya! If I go back…Wakko and Dot will be in danger."  
Ralph looked as stunned as Yakko felt; he didn't have a clue why he'd just said that, but he knew it was true.  
"So I'm not going back, ya hear?" he continued, "I'm getting outta here."  
He turned and made to march over to the gates, but he was lifted into the air by Ralph's two hulking arms.  
"Orders are orders, Yakko," he said, though there was panic woven into his tone, "You're to stay in da water tower. Duuh, at all times."  
Yakko struggled, but it was no good. He tapped his fingers on Ralph's arm impatiently as he was carried back to his home.  
"Yakko!" Dot cried and rushed over to him and Ralph.  
"Duuh, _two_ of you?" Ralph said brusquely, sweeping Dot up into his other arm.  
"You need to go back to school," a vaguely Liverpudlian voice came from behind them. Ralph swirled round to face Wakko who was holding up three fingers, "There's three of us."  
"Dah! Where did you come from?"  
"Well…it all started when my mummy and my daddy-"  
"Duuh, that's enough! Get back to your water tower!"

Wakko blindly followed as Ralph dragged his two siblings back to their house. Dot stretched out her neck as far as it would go in Yakko's direction, who annoyingly turned away from her.  
"What is _wrong_ with you?" she whispered.  
Yakko didn't reply. He didn't even turn around and acknowledge her.  
"Yakko!" she hissed angrily, "Talk to me, won't you?"  
Yakko sighed, but said nothing.  
"Hey, it's me," Dot said in a much more soothing tone, "Dot. The impossibly cute one. You can tell me anything."  
"I can," Yakko agreed, "But I won't."  
Dot's face scrunched in frustration, "Why can't you just _tell_ me what you're-"  
"Because I don't know!" Yakko yelled, not caring that Ralph had jerked to a halt at his outburst, or that Wakko had collided with him and was now sitting on the floor nursing a bump on his head, "If I knew, I'd tell ya! It's just those stupid dreams, they make no sense! One minute we're doing the usual, you know, anvil here, two-places-at-once there, like we always do. The next, you and Wakko are being dragged away by some…uuhhhh invisible force! It's hard for me to see that, Dot! You two mean the world to me!"  
Dot patted her brother on the elbow and gently said, "Yakko, it was only a dream."  
Yakko hesitated. On the one hand, she could be right. It could all just be a bad dream, nothing to worry about. But on the other hand, his instinct was telling him not to ignore it.  
"It's not just a dream. It's more than that. Don't ask me to explain. It's just a…a…"  
"Gut feeling," Dot finished.  
"Yeah."  
Dot smiled angularly, "I need to talk to you when we get back."  
"We are back," Wakko informed her. She looked around and, to her surprise, they were indeed back at the water tower. She and Yakko were sitting on the floor conversing with Wakko hovering nearby.  
"Oh," she exclaimed, "Well…I need to talk to you now, then. Uh, Wakko? Could you give us a little privacy?"  
Wakko looked stunned. He'd never known Dot or Yakko to ask for privacy before; anything they'd ever done or discussed had been done as a trio. As _the _trio. He left them alone anyway. He was sure one of them would take pity on him and tell him at some point.  
"These dreams," Dot said urgently, "You say you see yourself with me and Wakko, doing the usual, and then we're suddenly taken away?"  
"Yeah. It's like we're being punished for being ourselves."  
Dot tapped her chin in thought, "Well, maybe that's it."  
Yakko raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"  
"Maybe you're subconsciously unhappy with the way we live our lives. Maybe you want us to grow up a little."  
"Grow up?" Yakko shuddered, "Sis, I would _never_ want that!"  
"It _does_ seem unlikely," Dot admitted, "But I can't interpret the dream in any other way."  
There was a long pause that would have been silent if it wasn't for Wakko's blatantly attention-seeking coughs and splutters.  
"We should tell him," Yakko and Dot said at the same time.


End file.
